IAS presidents

Looking back with the IAS presidents

To mark the 25th anniversary of the International AIDS Society we captured the memories and observations of all 13 IAS Presidents from 1988 onwards through a series of video interviews. Each of our Presidents looks back on their tenure as IAS President and reflects on the development of the HIV epidemic and what impacted them the most over during the last 30 years.

Lars Kallings (Sweden) - IAS President from 1988-1990

International AIDS Conferences:
Stockholm & Montreal

Key Events:

1987:

AZT approved but has difficult side effects

1988:

World AIDS Day starts (December 1). UNAIDS reports that the number of women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds that of men

1989:

US travel ban imposed

1990:

8 million have HIV worldwide

Paul Volberding (USA) - IAS President from 1990-1992

International AIDS Conferences:
San Francisco & Florence

Key Events:

1990:

U.S. FDA approves use of AZT for pediatric AIDS

1991:

Red ribbon becomes symbol of HIV/AIDS

Freddie Mercury. Lead singer of Queen, dies from AIDS

Magic Johnson, basketball player announces he has HIV, and retires from sport

Peter Piot (Belgium) - IAS President from 1992-1994

International AIDS Conferences:
Amsterdam & Berlin

Key Events:

1992:

International AIDS conference moves to Holland due to US travel ban

FDA licenses first rapid HIV test in the US, which provides results in as little as ten minutes

AIDS becomes number one cause of death for U.S. men aged 25 to 44

1993:

"Philadelphia," a film starring Tom Hanks as a lawyer with AIDS, opens in theaters, becoming the first major Hollywood movie on AIDS

World class ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev dies of AIDS.

President Clinton establishes White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP).

David Cooper (Australia) - IAS President from 1994-1998

International AIDS Conferences:
Yokohama & Vancouver

Key Events:

1994:

U.S. Public Health Service recommends use of AZT by pregnant women to reduce perinatal transmission of HIV, based on "076" study showing up to 70% reduction in transmission

1995:

8 million with HIV worldwide

First protease inhibitor, saquinavir, approved in record time by the U.S. FDA, ushering in new era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)

The South African Government announces new antiretroviral treatment programme

Helene Gayle (USA) - IAS President from 2004-2006

International AIDS Conferences:
Bangkok & Toronto

IAS Conference:
Rio de Janeiro

Key Events:

2004:

WHO 3 by 5 campaign reached but 33m now have HIV

The World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the United States Government, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announce results of joint efforts to increase the availability of antiretroviral drugs in developing countries. An estimated 700,000 people had been reached by the end of 2004.

Large international clinical study (iPrEx) showed a daily dose of combination antiretroviral pill reduced the risk of acquiring HIV among men who have sex with men and transgendered women who have sex with men.

Obama Administration releases first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States in July.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (France) - IAS President from 2012-2014

International AIDS Conferences:
Washington DC & Melbourne

IAS Conference:
Kuala Lumpur

Key Events:

2012:

U.S. FDA approves the use of Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for reducing the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals at high risk, marking the first HIV treatment to be approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).